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Marriage. What’s love got to do with it? Well, a lot, as it turns
out—but you may also want to ask, "What’s glucose got to do with it?" A
new study of married couples finds that lower levels of blood glucose
may make married people both angrier at their spouses and more
aggressive toward them.

Using 'Voodoo Dolls' to Represent Spouses

At the onset of the study, the couples completed a survey that measured relationship satisfaction.

The
research, which was conducted in people’s homes, required that each
spouse measure glucose levels with a blood glucose monitor. Readings
were taken before breakfast and every evening before bed, for 21 days.

Each
participant in the study was given a voodoo doll, which they were told
represented their spouse, along with 51 pins. At the end of each day,
participants inserted between 0 and 51 pins in the doll, depending on
how angry they were with their mate.

The researchers found that
participants with low blood glucose stuck more pins into the dolls.
Study results suggest that low glucose levels may decrease a person's
ability to control emotions such as aggression. “We found that being
'hangry' [a combination of 'hungry' and 'angry'] can affect our behavior
in a bad way, even in our most intimate relationships. Even those who
reported they had good relationships with their spouses were more likely
to express anger if their blood glucose levels were lower. We found a
clear link between aggressive impulses as seen with the dolls and actual
aggressive behavior,” said lead author Brad J. Bushman, Ph.D.,
professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University.

Following
the 21-day study, participants played a game in which they were told
they would play against their spouse. The winner of each of the 25
trials could control the volume and duration of a loud, harsh sound to
be delivered to the loser. (The opponent was a computer; spouses did
hear noise in half the trials.)

Participants with lower average
levels of evening glucose delivered louder and more prolonged noises to
their spouse, even after controlling for relationship satisfaction and
differences between men and women, according to the study.

Food for the Brain

Bushman
told Healthline, “Our brain is less than 2 percent of our body weight,
but it consumes about 20 percent of our calories. It demands a lot of
energy, which it gets from the foods we eat.”

He added, “Glucose
is the food that the brain requires in order to exercise self-control.
By far, the emotion that is the most difficult for people to control is
anger. The area behind the forehead, the prefrontal cortex, is in charge
of executing functions, such as controlling emotions. It demands a lot
of energy to control your emotions.”

According
to Bushman, this energy can be depleted over time, leading to an erosion
of self-control. Aggressive impulses, sometimes directed at a spouse,
may emerge as failures of self-control.

Julia Samton, M.D., board
certified in psychiatry and neurology, and director of Manhattan
Neuropsychiatric, in New York, told Healthline, “When our blood sugar is
low our body treats it as a crisis. Our adrenal glands get stimulated,
and they send out a number of hormones and communicate to our entire
body and brain that we are in crisis. We get more irritable, more
hostile, and anxious. Hormones are very powerful chemicals.”

No Surprise: Fatigue and Drinking Alcohol Don't Help

Samton
said that fatigue and drinking alcohol may also be to blame. “When we
are tired, we have lower frustration tolerance and it can be more
difficult to take things in stride. Sometimes if we’ve had too much to
drink, we might be less inhibited and say things that we may be feeling
that we might not necessarily articulate.”

Commenting on Bushman’s
findings, Allison Rumsey, RD, CDN, CNSC, CSCS, a registered dietitian
and spokesperson for the New York State Dietetic Association, told
Healthline that when blood sugar is low, it can cause an imbalance of
several hormones in our body that regulate both mood and appetite.
“Anger and frustration are common responses to low blood sugar. Blood
sugar has to drop pretty low for this to happen, and generally takes
several hours of not eating.”

Emphasizing that some people are
more prone to having low blood sugar than others and that these people
are likely to have more severe symptoms, Rumsey said that anger, as a
result of hunger, is also partly based on personality.

Don't Be 'Hangry'

About
coining the word "hangry," Bushman said, “Hungry people tend to be
angry. Blood glucose levels can be brought up most quickly by eating
carbohydrates or sugary foods.” Emphasizing that he doesn’t advocate
eating a lot of candy bars even though they raise glucose fast, Bushman
said, “A better way to raise glucose is by eating protein, such as
protein bars and protein drinks, and eating vegetables. These foods will
take longer to raise glucose, but glucose will remain elevated longer.”

Rumsey
advised that in order to keep blood sugar stable and ward off feeling
"hangry," a combination of protein and carbs should be consumed every
three to four hours. “This could be something as simple as carrots,
hummus, peanut butter, banana, cheese, or whole-grain crackers,” Rumsey
advised.

“It’s simple advice, but it works," Bushman said. "Before
you have a difficult conversation with your spouse, make sure you’re
not hungry.”